Daniel Jalkut

@danielpunkass.punkitup.com

Founder of Red Sweater and punkass of lore. https://redsweater.com/

I went for a short swim in Brighton, England, a few weeks ago. For those who don’t know, the beach there is not sandy, but covered with pebbles. It’s SO painful to walk on, but I had the sense that if I were to walk on it every day my feet, and by extension I, would be cured of everything.

Over the weekend, I had a commitment about 12 miles from home, with the only navigable routes through urban areas. Our only family car was taken, so I decided to bike. Owning an e-bike made all the difference, as I sacrificed the significant time (1:15 each way), but kept most of my energy. FTW!

I know this will be controversial to AI antagonists, but the LLMs we have access to today are the natural culmination of human knowledge sharing, going back to the first scrolls, books, libraries. The better we get at sharing knowledge, the farther we advance as a species.

I enjoyed the Apple TV show “Pluribus”. I think there’s an analog between their all-knowing “hive mind”, and the ways that AI LLMs can benefit humans. For all of history it’s been unheard of that a single entity knows virtually everything about everything. This is a big opportunity for humanity.

I had Claude Fable identify 100 bugs, and then asked Claude Opus to tackle large swaths of them. On a day when I've been busy with other things, went swimming, etc., I've already closed 25 substantial bugs. And I reviewed them all. LLMs are better at improving human output than replacing it.

With apologies to any good people who work for SpaceX or otherwise hold shares, I can’t help but cheer when I see their stock price is down. Elon Musk is a scourge against humanity and anything that hurts him (I know, it’s virtually impossible) should be celebrated.

I’ve read about the challenge Apple, and other gatekeeping app distributors, are having in dealing with the onslaught of new AI-designed apps. Apparently it’s leading to longer review times for everybody. Here’s an idea: always review the apps that have EVER been approved before first.

On a hike in the hills above Edinburgh, Scotland, we passed an older man, around 80, who was making his way up the hill. He told us we could swim in the reservoir, as he had done “every day, as a child, before breakfast.” I knew what I had to do.

Photo of a lake with a long dry beach in front, and trees and blue sky behind. A caucasian man is floating in the middle of the lake, smiling and waving.

Downtown Raleigh, NC is ALIVE with Rubik’s speedcubing. I love talking to locals who had no idea we were coming to town. They always want to know EVERYTHING. And usually they say “it’s JUST a pattern, right?” To which I answer “weeeellllllll”

Amazing, after a year, Hyatt still has $1000+ of my money that I spent on a hotel room I never stayed at, that Booking.com ASSURED me was canceled with no fee. These companies trading blame while meanwhile I’m still out $1000 for trusting either of them.

So the best case scenario is that mideast politics will return to where they stood 6 months ago, America leaves shame-faced, and Israel leaves somehow victorious after defying Trump and America. Cool, cool.

After Zohran Mamdani was elected as Mayor of New York City, you could understand if he wanted to take a break. Recharge. But apparently the way he recharges is by continuing to campaign. Non-stop. It’s Mamdani time in New York City. Let’s go!

My town lets residents request trees be planted if they promise to water them. I am responsible for nine trees on my block. I have a huge water bladder I can put on my car’s roof, to drive around and water them. My wife calls me “Johnny Street Trees.” 😂

I’m excited about many of the announcements Apple made during WWDC, but more importantly, I’m excited by the impression that the company still has, or may have even regained, vitality. To some extent, at least, it feels like a fresh start. Bring it.